


Once Upon A Time...

by Simarillion



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-03
Updated: 2010-04-03
Packaged: 2017-10-08 16:34:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/77547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Simarillion/pseuds/Simarillion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Halloween pageant at an elementary school is cursed and the kids are forced to start acting out fairy tales.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: None of the characters of the Supernatural show are mine. They all belong to The CW network and Eric Kripke. I make no money with any of this.
> 
> A/N: I read the prompts of spn_halloween and stumbled over this one. Honestly, I am such a fairy tale whore that I just couldn't let this chance pass by.   
> So, there's gonna be violence, gore and even some cannibalism, cause this is what the original fairytales were all about before the brothers Grimm got their hands on them and turned them into stories suitable for the bourgeoisie. I won't get started on what Disney did after that.

... there was a little boy...

It all starts with the street lights giving out. At first there is confused silence but then the girls start whimpering and screaming. They always do stuff like that. Sam can't understand why girls have to be so, so, girly.

When the light goes out he's walking rather in the middle of the pageant. He and Tim, together with some kid of the neighbor class and Mike are pulling the cart with the big pumpkin jack-o lantern. All four of them let go of the cart and turn to search for an adult. His dad has taught him that it's important to know where the responsible adult is.

It's too dark to see anything and Sam climbs on top of the pumpkin light to get the candles from inside. The top is hot and it takes some time before he can open it. All this time he hears people shout, run around and the occasional scared wail.

"Sam!" Tim's voice is rather shaky and Sam doesn't think him to be a coward because of that. He's scared as well.

"Just wait a second Tim, I'm gotta get the candles from the pumpkin."

He carefully reaches in and grabs the first candle. The inside of the pumpkin is incredibly hot and the heat hurts somewhat awful. Sam turns to his friend, who's climb up on the cart as well, and hands him the light.

"This one's for you, I'm gonna get a second one."

Once more he reaches inside for a candle. It seems like the air inside the pumpkin is even hotter now. Quickly he grabs the first stick he reaches and promptly spills some hot wax over his hand.

"Ow!" He pulls his hand out, holding tightly onto his candle. "This stuff hurts like hell."

The skin where the wax has spilled onto is red and there are small blisters starting to form. Next to it the wax gets hard and breaks from his hand in milky flakes.

"What now?" Sam holds his candle up and looks around for a familiar face but there are just people he doesn't recognize. Adults, kids, all mixed together rushing around without any real goal and purpose.

"I think we ought to get out of the centre, it'll be easier to find someone from the side. And then we're gonna start searching for our parents."

The plan is good and so they climb down from the big pumpkin lantern and make their way through the crowd of people. Nobody pays attention to anybody but to himself and so they get shoved and bumped into.

Sam hears a surprised shout behind him and suddenly, when he turns back, he finds Tim gone. Another person runs into him, some grown up, and almost knocks him over. The candle gets knocked out of his hand though and Sam tries to get to his light source. Just when he's about to pick it up, somebody bumps into him and he trips over.

He does not fall high but the concrete is rough and his palms and knees where they hit the ground. Sam sits up and rubs over his knees. It hurts and his hands hurt even more.

When he turns his palms around he finds the scratched. There's a little bit of blood and a lot of dirt. He knows that you are not supposed to get dirt into a wound, his brother told him that, but Sam's got nothing he can use to clean his hand with.

The stinging makes his eyes well up and Sam rubs over his cheeks and eyes with his arms. He's not supposed to cry. Dean says that girls cry all the time but boys don't cry. Sam doesn't really understand why boys aren't supposed to cry but he believes his brother and tries his best to do as he says.

The candle has been crushed and now he has no light at all. Slowly he climbs to his feet and tries to move into the direction he's been heading before. The edge of the crowd is somewhere in this direction and he wants to get out of the headless trampling mass.

It's hard to see where to go but after a couple of seconds his eyes start to adjust to the darkness and he can make out shapes and blurry images.

Suddenly he can hear a strange noise somewhere off to his left side. It sounds like someone or something sniffing the air, nails clicking on the pavement. For some reason he can't describe, he feels scared, even more than before.

He wishes there was some shelter or place to hide in but there is only the street and random people, and stuff he can't see. Things like the one making those noises.

Sam looks around but there's nothing. He tries real hard to peer into the darkness where the sounds are coming from. Nothing. Scared he wishes his father or at least his brother would be here but his dad has to work and his brother is collecting candy with his friends. Sam's supposed to meet up with his older brother at the end of the pageant.

The noise grows softer and then it's gone. But the lack of weird noises doesn't reassure him. He knows that evil things lurk in the dark and that just because you can't see or hear them, doesn't mean they're not there.

Careful to keep quiet, Sam once more tries to reach the edge of the crowd. This time he makes it and he stops to catch his breath. From the outside the only thing that can be seen are dark shapes moving into different directions. There are calls and shouts, people calling each other and every so often screams or wailing.

He decides to walk into the direction the pageant had been heading because he knows that at the end there's his brother and that means that he's safe there. His dad's told him many times. Stay with Dean and nothing will happen to you.

Dean, his older brother, is really old, he's already in fifth grade and will start in Junior high school after that. Sam likes staying with his older brother because Dean always teaches him funny things and tells him stories about the older kids, and school, and how stupid girls are.

Sam notices that the darkness is getting brighter. It's strange but the night is not as dark anymore. It's getting colder and clammier too. He looks around and sees the fog creep through the legs of the people and over the ground, slowly rising and making it even harder to see.

It's odd that even though the night is not as dark anymore, it's harder to make anything out.

He decides to stay close to the crowd and follow it back to the gates of the school. Once he gets there he'll be safe. His hands hurt and he his knee burns as well. With every step the jeans rub over his bruised skin and it hurts a little more.

The fog gets thicker and soon he has trouble seeing anything at all. The air is ice cold and heavy with the grey thickness, the moisture seeping into his clothes. Sam tries to walk faster but every so often he has to stop to look for some kind of marker that might tell him if he's on the right way or not.

A loud scream comes from somewhere behind him. This time it does not sound like some girl screaming because she's scared but it sounds like someone in pain. A lot of pain. The screaming is accompanied by growling and snarling.

He doesn't know what is going on back there but he doesn't intend to find out. As he hurries on he stubs his toe on something and trips over. This time he can't keep silent as his bruised palms scrape over the pavement.

He's tried to keep from crying so hard but this time he just can't stop the tears from running down his face. The scrapes and cuts just hurt so much.

Sam curls up and cries. He's scared and he wants his brother to come and get him. Dean can protect him, Sam knows that for sure. Dean has always protected him in the past. He wishes his brother was here already and would get him away from this place.

"Sammy?" Dean! It's his older brother's voice. His brother's found him.

"Dean, I'm over here!" An odd screech from above has him whimper with surprise. Something is out there watching him. He can feel it.

There is the sound of footsteps and a shape can be seen looming in the thick grey fog. The person comes closer and slowly he can make out the face of his older brother. It's Dean. It's really him. His brother runs over to him once he's spotted Sam and kneels down next to him.

"Are you alright, Sammy?" Dean takes his hands and turns them up so he can take a look at the bruised palms. The pressure hurts but Sam doesn't want to look weaker than he already does and bites down on his lower lip to keep from wincing. "Does it hurt a lot?"

"No." He lies but there's not a lot of conviction in his voice. He knows that his brother can hear the tears and the fear he feels in Sam's tone.

"What happened?" Dean scans their surrounding but the fog is as thick as ever. Still nothing much to see. His older brother wears a black costume with a white skeleton sewn on it. It's actually not really scary. Not even nearly as scary as the stuff going on around them.

"I don't know. The street lights went out and suddenly everyone was screaming and shouting and running around. Me and Tim tried to get out of the crowd but we got separated." Sam can already feel his courage return, just from his brother's presence alone.

"Well, we better get away from this place and wait for dad at home. He'll know what to do." Dean gets up from his crouch and holds out a hand to him. "Gimme your hand."

Dean's hand is cold and sweaty and Sam's fingers can't get a good enough grip on his older brother's hand. Still he holds onto it with all his might. It's important not to loose Dean like he did Tim.

"Come on, we'll go into the direction I came from." Sam follows his older brother obediently and they trudge through the mist and the fog, never seeing anything, only hearing odd noises and the racket of the crowd.

The further they leave the crowd behind, the denser the fog gets and soon Sam can't even see his older brother walking in front of him. If it wasn't for their hands holding onto each other, he would have believed himself to be alone.

Sam wonders what happened to Tim and if he's alright. Maybe his friend found his parents and is they're already on their way home. The thoughts of returning back to the motel has him speed his steps up but he trips over something on the ground.

Panic floods him as he once more hits already sore spots upon falling. He lost the hold he'd had on Dean's hand. He's lost his big brother.

Tears well up in his eyes and this time he can't hold them back. How's he supposed to find his way home now? He rubs furiously over his eyes and wipes his nose with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Sammy?" Dean's voice sounds far away but Sam can hear the worry and panic in it.

"Dean!" The croak that leaves his throat sounds more like a frog trying to speak than himself but the tears and the fear are making his voice hoarse and croaky."Dean!"

He can't see a thing and the dense fog swallows every sound. Slowly Sam climbs onto his feet again and he hugs himself. Not a trace of his brother, he can't even hear Dean calling his name anymore. Sam wonders if he should walk in the direction he suspects Dean to be or if he should wait.

In the end a shiver running down his back makes the decision for him. Something's out there and he feels vulnerable just standing here and waiting for it to come upon him. Cautiously he starts walking into the direction his older brother disappeared.

It sometimes seems like the grey mist clings to his clothes and swirls sluggishly around his feet with every step he takes. Sam listens carefully for any indication of where Dean might be, and he listens for the threat he knows hidden somewhere in the fog.

How long he's walking he doesn't know but after some time the fog gets less and Sam can make out grass under his feet. When he recognizes a shape in front of him, his steps falter. He doesn't get the wonky feeling he usually gets with evil things and so Sam decides it safe to approach the figure.

Upon getting closer the shape slowly gets more clearly defined and it turns out not to be a person but a tree. The naked twigs create the image of a skeleton tree. It frightens Sam a little bit.

When he stops in front of the scary tree, Sam looks up and watches the fingerlike twigs tear at the fog. It reminds him of a dream he had not too long ago. Long twig-like fingers, like the hand of a skeleton. His dad had woken him up from that nightmare, Sam can remember Dean being there too.

But this time his dad isn't around and he isn't dreaming either. It's all real and it's scarier than anything he's ever seen while being asleep.

The scratches and scrapes on his knees, palms and elbows are burning. Sam wants to sit down but he he's afraid that getting up again might hurt even worse. So just stands there, in front of the skeleton tree, and looks around for any other lead that might suggest where he's and what direction home is.

There's only the grey-black mix of night and mist, and nothing else.

Sam takes one last look up at the tree, and then he walks on into the direction he's been heading before. His steps are cautious but he keeps on walking. He won't let anything frighten him, and keep him from getting back to the Motel, and to safety.

As he continues on he scans the grayish soup surrounding him. Every time the fog swirls, his heart speeds up. Sam suspects someone lurking, hidden by the mist, and waiting to jump him. But nothing happens and even though the fogs gets less and thins out, the darkness of the night renders him almost as blind as the fog did.

He stops surprised when he hears the sound of crying to his left. Sam's thinks about ignoring the noises, but in the end his curiosity, as well as the urge to help, gets the better of him. Cautiously, Sam sneaks closer to the source of the crying.

It's most likely a girl that got lost in the fog. Sam doesn't like girls too much. They are strange, and they cry all the time. Last week Betty Hopkins had been telling her girlfriends that once she's all grown up, she'll have a pony, and three cats. Sam had wanted to tell her that no one in their right mind would give her anything living to take care of. Betty Hopkins killed the cactus that they'd been supposed to take care of for their class project.

Once Sam gets closer to the crying person he calls out to the stranger.

"Hello?" The crying stops. "Hello? Is anybody here?"

The silence makes him nervous. What if it'd been a trap, and his calls are guiding something dangerous towards him?

"Hello?" The call surprises him to such an extent that Sam almost takes off. But it's the frightened and despairing quality of the voice that keeps him here.

"I'm Sam. Where are you? Are you hurt?" The last question has his wounds throb hotly.

"I'm Stephanie." So it's a girl after all.

Sam walks into the direction the voice'd been coming from. The further he's closing in, the better he can make out the shape of a small person sitting on the ground. The hunch of the shape makes it look like the person sitting there is hurt. This has Sam's heart beat faster. He needs his older brother. Dean can take care of wounds; Sam doesn't know the first thing about first aid.

Stephanie is looking at Sam when he reaches her. There are deep gashes on her left cheek, and they look like scratches made by claws or long fingernails. There's blood smeared all over her face and here eyes are watery and glassy from the crying.

"What happened to you?" Upon a closer look, Sam can see that the girl's eyes are scratched as well, rendering her blind.

"I can't see you." Once more the girl, Stephanie, starts crying the tears dripping as watered down blood from her cheeks. "My eyes and my face hurt."

Never before has he seen something like this. True, their dad has pictures and stuff of really scary things, but this is the first time that Sam sees wounds like this. And it's the first time that he has to deal with someone helpless and wounded all on his own. Sam doesn't know what to do.

"How did you hurt your face?" He kneels down next to her and tentatively reaches out to her arm. He wants to reassure her that he's still around, but he's afraid of hurting her. She looks so bruised and frail. "Did someone attack you?"

"I want to go home." The panic that had been in her voice before is gone now. "I want my mum and dad."  
Sam wants his brother, he wants Dean. But they both won't get what they want. There's nothing they can do about that.

"I'm going to help you, but first we've got to find out what is going on." Sam sits down and takes a look around. There's not much to see, only darkness, the last traces of fog. To one side he can make out some patterns in the darkness, but it's not possible to recognize anything in particular.

The sudden touch on his arm has Sam flinch with surprise. He looks over at his newfound friend.

Stephanie's face is scrunched up and tears are wetting her cheeks. Together with the half-dried blood it makes her look like something from a nightmare.

"What's wrong?" Sam can see that the girl feels uncomfortable, but he just doesn't know what to do about it. "Does your face hurt a lot?"

This time she answers only with a nod.

"How did you scratch your face?" Sam really, really wants to know of there's something out here that attacked Stephanie, something that he should be aware of.

"The thorns scratched it. I fell and the thorns cut into my face." The memory of the accident has the girl cry harder and Sam realizes that even though he doesn't know what to do with a wounded person, he knows even less about how to deal with a crying girl.

"Don't cry, once we find my older brother he'll know how to get to your parents and they'll take you to hospital. Nothing to worry about." Except Sam's not really sure how the girl's going to get her eyesight back. The scratches in and around her eyes are the worst of them all. There's no way though he's going to tell her that.

One last look around, and then Sam gets back on his feet. The burning pain of his knees makes him hiss but he tries not to let on that he's hurt. Compared to the girl, his scrapes and scratches are not worth mentioning.

"Okay, we should try to find my big brother." Sam takes hold of Stephanie's hand and tugs at it. "Come on, I'll help you get up."

It takes some more sobbing from the girl before she's up and clinging to him. Only the current circumstances have him allow the girl to get so touchy. Usually he doesn't like girls to get that close to him. They are stupid and annoying. As things are though, the two of them ought to stick together.

Since he doesn't know what direction is then right one, Sam decides that it might be a good idea to head into the direction that he'd been walking into before, whatever direction that is.

There are no sounds besides the ones they're making themselves and even though there are shapes and forms in the dark, nothing definite can be made out. Sam tightens the grip he has on the girl and leads on, hoping and wishing that they'll come across someone. Someone grown-up, better even, Dean.

He's not quite sure for how long they're walking, but there's suddenly a door in front of them, like it's sprung out of the ground. One second there's nothing Sam can make out and the other, they're standing right in front of this door.

It's not only a door, of course, there's a wall too. The wall's got this really weird color, a brown that you normally only see with bread.

"Why have we stopped?" Stephanie's question shakes Sam out of his surprise.

"There's a door." And that's the only thing he says, because the building the arrived in front of makes him wary. It's just a feeling, but if there's one thing he's learned from his dad, then it's this, always trust your instincts, and if something feel off, keep away.

"Maybe we should knock and see if anyone's there? Maybe someone can help us?" Maybe, but Sam is not too sure. One look at his companion's face, the torn skin and the scratched eyes, though, and Sam decides to give it a try.

The door feels odd and when Sam scrapes at it, parts can be torn down. He takes a closer look at the pieces of the door he's holding, and he realizes that the building's made of bread.

"Nibble, nibble, like a mouse, who is nibbling at my house?" The voice sounds scratchy and even though the person talking tries to make the question sound inviting and kind, Sam can feel ice-cold shivers run down his back.

"I know this one," comes the soft murmur from Stephanie. She's pressed against his side and holding on to him. "It's from Hansel and Gretel."

Sam knows that it is a fairytale, but he's never heard it. "So what happens in the story?"

"A brother and a sister get lost in a forest and they arrive in front of a gingerbread house. When they start eating the house, someone calls from the inside and they answer with, 'Never mind, it is the wind.' The person inside is a witch, who wants to eat them."

Sam's not sure if the person inside the house is really a witch, like in the fairy tale, but he's got no intentions of finding it out. Slowly he steps back from the door, guiding the girl at his side around the corner.

"I think we better stay away from the house." His decision is confirmed when they can hear the sound of crying from inside the bread hut. The words are not discernible but the voice sounds distressed and very scared.

The next thing Sam hears makes him change his mind though. The walls distort the words, but there's no mistaking the voice he can hear. It's Dean. His brother is inside the witch's house.

"Stephanie, I can hear my brother's voice inside the house. I'll have to check if he's alright." Slowly he helps her sit down. "Stay here and don't move, and don't talk to anyone. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

"No, please stay!" It surprises him how strong a girl can be when she's scared. He fingers will definitely leave bruises behind. "Please, don't leave me behind."

"I won't leave you behind, but I can't take you with me. I just need to check if it's Dean, who's inside and if he needs help. I promise to be back quickly."

The tears that are gathering in the torn eyes make it almost impossible for Dean to make her stay behind. But in the end he decides that he won't be able to sneak around the witch's lair with her clinging to his arm.

"I promise, nothing'll happen to you." As an afterthought he hugs her and then he sneaks to the back of the bread house, looking for a side or a back door.

The brown wall smells deliciously of freshly baked bread, and Sam can hear his stomach growl. His face heats up with a blush. It's stupid really to feel embarrassed, when there's no-one around to hear his stomach growling, but Sam can't help blushing anyway.

Once he reaches the back of the house, he cautiously checks if everything's safe, and then he sneaks up to the back door. It's made from bread as well, just like the rest of the building, but there's a small window.

Sam waits a couple of seconds to be sure that he's alone, nobody but him sneaking around, and then he carefully unlocks the door. It's something he's rather proud of. Nobody, not even their Dad is as good with lock-picking as Sam.

The interior of the bread house is semi-dark and there's the smell of fresh baked bakery and food cooking everywhere. He silently walks deeper into the building, looking for his brother, as well as keeping watch out for the witch.

There are actually no rooms in the house, the whole building is one huge room, that's stuffed full of things. A large sturdy table is covered in heaps of dishes, books, random stuff, and loads of dust. The flickering light of the fire in the fire place in the front of the house, reveals, niches and shelves along the side.

Halfway through the house, Sam can hear shuffling footsteps approaching him, and he crawls under the laden table to hide from what he suspects to be the owner of the hut. The witch.

His heart beats so hard, he can feel it in his throat. Not for the first time this night he wishes his brother was here to tell him what to do. Dean always knows the right thing to say or do. But if Sam heard right, he'll find his Dean here, and once he's freed his older brother, they can, together with the girl, get away from the witch, and find their way back home.

It surprises him somewhat to find the floor to be made of stone. And it's a rather dirty stone floor at that. Sam had half expected it to be bread as well.

Carefully he hides behind an upturned cauldron, watching the witch approach. She stops before he gets to him though, and she holds out a lantern, shedding light on two cages that are squeezed in-between a large shelf and an even bigger cupboard.

Sam has to fight down the urge to call his brother's name when he sees the battered form of Dean lying on the floor of one cage. From the distance and because of the bad lightning he can't see how bad his brother's injured.

"I have something for you. Some food and some water, to strengthen you, and fatten you up. There's not enough meat on your bones." The old crone sets a plate down in front of the cage, a jug is put next to it. "Go on, eat, drink."

The witch looks exactly like Sam imagined her to look like. Her dress is brown and beige, a dirty apron around her waist, the stains are of a rusty brown color. Her grey hair is unkempt and ticks out under the scarf she's wearing. He's sure that if the old woman would turn around, she's have a hooked, and warts in her face.

"That's right. You have to be thirsty, shouting for your brother." Sam feels something like dread curling in his tummy as he watches Dean hold the jug with his two hands, drinking thirstily and greedily from it. Some water trickles down his throat.

"There, there, what a good boy." The laughter that follows, has Sam cover his ears and he watches in horror as his brother drop the jug and convulses, holding his stomach, like he's in pain. "That's a good boy."

Dean groans in pain and his whole body trembles. Sam can see it even from his hideout behind the cauldron. There are shivers wracking his bigger brother's body. And then Dean starts to shift. His limbs and his body start to change their shape and Sam thinks he can see Dean's skin change color.

It takes some time but in the end, there is a shape buried under Dean's clothes. The body, which moves jerkily under the layer of cloths, is much smaller and frailer than Dean, and Sam wonders what happened, what the witch transformed his brother into.

"Now, now, that's just the start, little one." The witch reaches into the cage, and Sam almost rushes out to hurl himself against the old woman. He wants to protect his brother from what the evil woman is about to do.

His plan is stopped though, when he sees his brother for the first time since the change. As the clothes are lifted out of the cage, a thin reddish-brown body is revealed. The back, Sam thinks it is the back, is covered in small white spots, and Sam can't help but think that for the first time Dean, freckles are lighter than Dean's skin.

But then again, his brother's got no skin anymore. Instead the light of the lantern reveals that Dean's whole body is covered with hair. Lots of hair.

The thing moves, raises its head, and Sam looks into the big hazel eyes of a fawn.

This time when the witch laughs, Sam is too shocked by what he sees, to cover his ears. He realizes that the old crone leaves, the cage disappears again into darkness, but it takes him some seconds to get a grip and crawl out from his hideout. After a short check, to see if it is safe to surface, he cautiously sneaks over to the cage, and its occupant.

In the dark it's hard to make anything out, but Sam can see something move.

"Dean?" His voice is soft, and he has to admit, scared.

Once more something moves in the shadows and then a small black nose nuzzles against his hand. Sam can feel tears gathering in his eyes. It's not fair that he only finds Dean, to be alone again.

"Dean, I'll get you out, and then we'll have to get out of here. I don't know how long, the witch will be gone." His words are shaky and weak, but Sam refuses to leave his brother behind.

In no time at all has he unlocked the door to the cage, and he watches carefully as his brother takes his first wobbly steps on his long and frail legs. Once Dean is out of his prison, Sam closes the door softly and together they sneak to the back of the house.

The way to the back door takes longer than the way into the house, because Dean has some difficulties with his strange legs. More than once, Sam has to catch him before he topples over. It's strange to be able to lift his older brother that easily. Dean weighs barely more than a loaf of bread.

Sam can't help but take a deep breath once they are outside the witch's house. He wraps his arms around Dean and carries him back to where he left Stephanie. He hopes that nothing happened to the girl while he was gone.

Dean rubs his head against Sam's cheek and when Sam tightens his hold on him, he cries softly into Sam's ear, the wet nose brushing the shell of it. The touch tickles, and Sam fights hard not to laugh. Even though Dean is not himself, he still manages to cheer him up.

Stephanie sits exactly where he's left her. At the sound of his steps, her face turns towards him, the torn cheeks grimacing; with what Sam thinks must be fear.

"It's me, Stephanie. It's Sam." He crouches down next to her, letting his brother go.

Dean shakes himself and jumps around a little, his frail looking sticklike legs catapulting him up. Once he has calmed down a little, Dean slowly stalks over to Sam and the girl. He carefully sniffs at Stephanie's face, making the girl giggle.

"What's that, Sam?" She tries to get a hold on whatever tickles her face, but Dean jumps away, amused by the game of tag.

"It's my brother, Dean. The witch has turned him into a fawn." He watches his brother nudge Stephanie's hand, letting her pet him. The act of stroking over Dean's soft fur, seems to calm the girl further, and she tries to smile for the first time since Sam found her.

Anxious of what might happen once the witch finds out that her captive's gone missing, Sam decides that it's high time that they get away from the house. Now that Dean's with him again, and that the fog's gone, he feels better about finding his way home.

"We better get away from the house." He reaches out to the girl, who has her hands wrapped around Dean's small body, and helps her to her feet. His brother jumps around them, obviously enjoying being able to walk on his own. "Come on, Dean."

Sam leads the way, guiding Stephanie by her hand, while his brother trots after them, ever so often jumping around and butting his head against Sam's side. Dean stops from time to time to scent the air or listen into the dark, like he's looking out for things lurking out of their sight.

It's actually kind of funny to watch Dean trying to play the big protector, when he's clearly the smallest of them. Only Stephanie, with her scratched eyes, is more vulnerable than his older brother.

The excitement of breaking his brother out of the witch's lair leaves, and Sam goes back to being nervous and scared. He knows that he's to only one, who's able to protect the three of them, but he can't help but think that the situation is too much for him.

Fog starts to crawl over the ground towards them, but it stays to the ground. In front of them Sam thinks he can make out shapes of trees, and the closer they get, the more it becomes obvious that they are heading towards a forest.

"Hey, stop it Dean." Sam glares at his brother who bumps his head against him only to skip ahead. His brother enjoys this too much for Sam's taste.

"How far do you think do we have to go?" Stephanie's voice is not as scared as it used to be, but her anxiousness can still be heard.

"I don't know, but I hope that we'll find someone else who can help us." There have to be others out there beside them, for sure. Sam hopes that he'll find Tim again, but he fears what might have happened to his friend. "The most important thing is that we stay together, and that we continue on in one direction."

"Okay." She presses a little closer to him, and Sam can feel her sweaty palms in his. It's from the nervousness and the fear, but it's kind of gross. He doesn't like wet hands.

A rustling ahead has him look in the direction of the sound. At first he thinks that someone's hiding, but then Dean breaks out of some bushes and bounds up to them. He slows down once he reaches Sam and the girl, and then he actually walks slowly next to them.

His large ears flicker, and he stares into the dark tangle of trees ahead.

"What? Did you find anything?" Dean sneezes and shakes his head, but he stays close to his two human companions, pressing against Sam.

The strange behavior makes Sam weary and he tightens his grip in Stephanie's hand, ignoring her sweaty palms, and pays close attention to the dark trees ahead. The closer they get, the more does he grow nervous. But nothing happens, and so they enter the forest, which looks even scarier up close.

There's a small path that leads into the trees. Sam doesn't like walking on it, it's like they're being led somewhere, maybe into a trap. The thing is, though, that he doesn't feel safer about walking off the road. The fog and the dark shadows and shapes, scare him.

It shouldn't be possible, but the darkness all around them grows thicker, and even darker. There are noises all around them, and by the time, the screeching of an owl, makes him cry out surprised, Stephanie has fused herself to his side, and Dean's constantly walking in front of Sam, as if he was trying to protect from any attackers.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Sam knows that his voice says something different. He's scared, and very much so. He wishes that Dean was his normal size and shape, and he wishes their father was back from his hunt.

Another screech is followed by the sound of something, or someone, rushing through the underbrush. A dry twig snaps under the weight of a body, alarming Sam of a possible danger, lurking close to them.

"What was that?" The girl's voice is scared again, and there are definitely tears close to the surface. "Sam?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe it was nothing at all." Sam doesn't like lying. He has to, because of the way his dad, Dean and him are living, because of the work their father is doing, but is he doesn't have to, he avoids telling lies. So, when he tells Stephanie that there might not be anything dangerous close by, it's not strictly a lie. He just doesn't know that there is.

Dean is getting more and more excited and his ears are flicking this way and that way, searching for any threat. He buts his head against Sam, but then he goes back to checking the perimeter again. The restlessness has his older brother slow his gait down, and checking everything around them.

"Let's hurry up a little bit." The sooner they get out of this strange forest, the better. Sam hurries his steps up. He guides Stephanie long the road with Dean closely following them.

It happens so quickly, Sam almost doesn't realize what's happening. Once moment they are hurrying down the path through the forest, and the next something jumps out in front of them. At first Sam can only recognize a dark shape on four legs, but when the thing approaches, snarling, he can make out what their attacker is. It's a huge black wolf.

"Sam?" The frightened voice in his ear distracts him for a second, in which Dean jumps in front of them, squeaking defiantly at their attacker. His brother's high-pitched battle cry is almost drowned out by the wolf's growl.

Sam feverishly thinks about what to do, how to get them out of this situation, but nothing comes to his mind. The fingers on his arm are digging painfully through his clothes, making him wince.

"Sam, what is going on? What's making these noises?" Sam is about to answer the girl's questions, when the large wolf jumps at them. His attack is interrupted by Dean who topples with all his might against the much larger predator.

A painful cry can be heard, and for a moment Sam thinks Dean is dead. His heart skips a beat and only continues beating, when Dean gets on his legs, placing himself once more between Sam and the wolf.

From his position Sam can see bloody scratches along the fawns shaking side, and anger starts to well up in him. How dare the wolf hurt his brother? Sam feels so angry; he thinks he's going to explode.

"Stay here, I have to help my brother." He tears the girl's fingers loose from his arm, ignoring the frightened wail it causes. Angry he picks up a stone that lies on the path in front of him and joins Dean's side.

Up close he can see how bad Dean is wounded. The gashes at his side are rather deep and blood's dripping to the ground.

Enraged he steps past his brother. He's not afraid anymore; he's just angry, angrier than he's ever been before, in his whole life.

"Leave us alone!" Tears are stinging in his eyes, but they aren't tears of pain or fear, but they're tears of rage. He hates the wolf, he hates it for hurting Dean, and he's going to make him pay for what he did. "Get lost!"

Their attacker crouches low and growls at them. His eyes are shining yellow and his teeth are white and big. Sam sees all that, but he doesn't care. He raises arm, and throws the stone he picked up with all his might at the wolf.

Sam's never been too good with precision. His dad always tells him, that he's no good for shooting something, he'll be much better at the hand to hand, once they'll start with it, but this time his aim is true.

The stone hits the wolf in the middle of his face, making the predator snarl and leap closer to them.

Dean squeaks again, preparing for the next attack, but Dean picks up another stone and steps in front of his brother. He won't let Dean get any more hurt.

"I said, leave us alone!" Sam growls his words this time and he stares challengingly into the wolf's eyes.

His words are answer by another snarl and then the big animal is attacking them again. This time, Sam hits its eye when the wolf leaps at them. The pain has it yowl and break to the side. He feels happy and proud about his throw and picks up the next stone.

Dean buts his head against Sam and takes wobble steps into Stephanie's direction. Both of them keep their eyes on the wolf while retreating to their companion, but the animal is still occupied with its hurting eye.

As they reach the girl, who is crying now, the dark body of their attacker is unfurling, and preparing for its next charge. The pitch-black fur bristles and increases the height of the wolf. Sam puts himself in front of Dean and Stephanie, pushing Dean back with one hand when his brother tries to get in front of him.

There's no way he's letting Dean get hurt more than he already is. Sam glances all around him, looking for something he can use for a weapon. Nothing.

Just when he thinks the predator will leap at them, he cocks his head to the side, scents the air and jumps off into the forest. Apparently he's found something more interesting to hunt.

Sam exhales relieved and plops down on the ground. His legs are all wobbly, and his hands are shaking so hard, he can barely rub them against his thighs. Dean rubs himself against Sam, and lies down next to him.

"Sam?" The girl's voice is panicky. Since she can't see, she must think that him and Dean got killed.

"I'm fine; we're fine, Stephanie. I'm just catching my breath." He pets Dean's small head, glad that his brother is still alive, and that they made it, that the wolf is gone.

Stephanie slowly walks in their direction, and just as she's about to run into them, Sam holds out his hand and stops her. "Sit down for a second."

She tries to gracefully sit down, but in the end she just plops down very much the way Sam did. This close Sam can see the tears that are glistening on her face. He reaches out to her and hugs her. She's a girl, but Sam feels sorry for her, and at the moment he feels like he can need the hug as well.

"What happened to your brother?" Sam looks down to see her tracing the edges of Dean's wounds. Her fingers are shaking as she cautiously maps his brother's trembling side. "Is he hurt?"

"Yeah, he protected us, and he got hurt doing so." Sam strokes over Dean's head and along his large ears. His brother looks up at him with large eyes, and Sam imagines he can see Dean looking at him reassuringly.

The three of them stay like this for some time, until they feel strong enough to continue their trek through the forest, and brave enough to face their next fairy tale encounter. Sam is the first to get up and he first helps Stephanie up and then picks Dean up, to carry him.

His brother feels even lighter than before, and Sam holds on tightly to Dean's thin frame. With Stephanie hooked in at one side and Dean in his arms, Sam guides them further down the dark path, which waves its way into the bowels of the forest.

The sounds of hoots and screeches of owls is all around them, but there are no signs of anyone lurking close by. The soft blanket of fog, which is covering the ground, swirls lazily around their feet, as it gets denser with every step they take.

For some time the dark shapes of the trees all around them is the only thing they can see. It's the hazy shine of light in the distance which announces that something is waiting for them. The size of the light source tells Sam that it's got to be a house or a hut, since it's much too big for a lantern.

Dean stares at the light source ahead, his ears flicking to the left and to the right, as if he's searching for something, or someone.

But nothing happens as they make their way closer and closer to what lies ahead. With every step Sam gets more anxious, but he tries the best he can to hide it from Stephanie and Dean, no need to worry them more than is necessary.


	2. called Sam.

It is a house. Actually it's more like a little cottage with the lights on inside. Sam stops in his tracks, to set Dean down, and then he turns to Stephanie.

"Wait here, I'll check the house out." He doesn't wait for a reply, just stomps over to the front door.

At the entrance he halts his steps though, and knocks carefully on the wooden door. No-one answers his knock, and Sam thinks it's safe enough to go in and take a looks around inside. The squeaking of the angles doesn't scare or surprise him, somehow he'd expected it.

The interior is very cheerful, with flowery curtains, sturdy but elegant furniture, and big rugs covering the wooden floor boards. The room Sam enters looks like some living or dining room, a large table in the center, covered with a linen table cloth, and a large vase with flowers right in the middle of it.

A flowery soft scent fills the room, and close to the furniture there is also the smell of beeswax. All in all the whole building feels nice and very welcoming. At the right end of the room is a door which leads to another room and on the other side a long curtain marks a doorway.

Sam takes another look around, peering through the door on the right, only to find a bedroom with a large four-poster bed. The bedding is of a pink and white paisley pattern and there are small bedside lamps on each bedside table on the right and the left of the bed.

Since no-one seems to lurk in the house, and Sam wants to get Dean and Stephanie out of the dark forest, he runs over to where he left them.

His brother is leaning against the girl's legs, favoring his uninjured side. At the sight of Sam coming back to them, he rights himself and takes careful steps towards him. After the third step his legs give out and he topples to the ground with an undignified squeak.

"Dean? Sam?" Stephanie turns her head towards the direction of Dean's cry.

"Everything's alright, Stephanie. Dean just fell over." Sam picks his fallen brother up and carries him over to the girl. He has to shuffle Dean around, always afraid that he'll hurt him, before he can reach out to Stephanie, and take her hand. "Come on, the house is warm, and it will be much safer than out here."

On his way back to the house, he keeps a careful eye on their surrounding. But they make it safe to the front door, and once they are inside, Sam closes it. There's no lock, but he sets Dean down and shoves a small cupboard in front of it.

"There, that should do." It's not really a guarantee of safety but it's better than nothing at all.

Sam turns around and finds Dean lying next to the bedroom door, his head tucked between his folded legs, eyes closed, and breathing calmly. In the light of the lamps Sam can finally see the full damage the attack of the wolf did. The scratches are very deep, and the fur around the gashes is matted with blood, but the bleeding itself has stopped.

A loud 'oops' is accompanied by the sound of something crashing to the floor.

"Sorry!" The contrite tone of voice has Sam grin amused, and he starts scanning the cupboards and shelves along the walls.

There are small china figurines, as well as other knick knacks neatly set up in showcases, and the shelves are covered with books. Curious about what he might find Sam starts scanning the letters on the old leather spines.

Many of the volumes are about cooking, gardening and illnesses, but stuck in between all the other books, Sam finds something that captures his attention at once, _'Classic Fairy Tales'_ is engraved in a swirling golden script, into the dark red leather cover.  
He takes the books out of the shelf, and walks over to the large table, where he sits down and opens the book. There's no index or some kind of table of content, the stories start pretty much on the first page Sam opens.

The letters are hard to read, hand-written most likely, and the dark ink is fading to a reddish brown at some places. Sam has to concentrate real hard, but in the end he gets the hang of reading the text. The first letter is beautifully decorated with ornamental designs and drawings, and then the paragraphs precisely dived the page into separate sections.

> _Once upon a time there was a kind young girl who lived with her mother in a small village. Everybody liked her but most of all her grandmother, who always bestowed her beloved grandchild with presents. One time she didn't know what to give the girl next, and so, when she found a beautiful piece of red velvet, she made her a hooded cape out of it. The young girl loved it so much, that from this time on she always wore the cape. From this time on she was known by everyone as Little Red Riding Hood._
> 
> One day when Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother got ill, the girl's mother packed a large basket full of food and drinks, putting a cake and some wine in as well, and handed it to her daughter. "Little Red Riding Hood," she said, "Please go and take these things to your grandmother, for she is ill and would be very happy to see you. But be aware on your way to her house, do not stray from the path, and don't speak to any strangers." Little Red Riding Hood promised to be careful and took the basket from her mother.
> 
> It was a beautiful day and the young girl merrily skipped along the path to her grandmother's house. The house was at the other side of the forest, and the path took Little Red Riding Hood into the darker parts of it. As the trees got bigger and thicker, Little Red Riding Hood decided to take a short cut over a small clearing, where she'd be able to pick some flowers for her grandmother. The young girl stepped off the path and walked on through the thicket of trees and bushes, until she arrived at the small clearing.
> 
> There were many beautiful flowers, and happily she started to pick them, and arrange them into a nice bouquet. When she looked up, she was able to see her grandmother's house in the distance, smoke rising from the chimney. Little Red Riding Hood continued to pick more flowers for some more time, when all of a sudden she could hear a voice behind her. "Good Day, Little Red Riding Hood."
> 
> "Good Day, Wolf," she answered kindly. "What a nice day to be out in the forest and that are such nice flowers that you are picking. Where are you going?" The wolf walked right up to the young girl, and sat down in front of her. "Why, I am going to my grandmother's house, for she is ill, and I bring her cake and wine, to give her strength."
> 
> "Is it very far from here?" Little Red Riding Hood shook her head and cried, "No, she lives in this house, right up that hill. The one next to the three old oak trees, surely you know it." The wolf wished the girl a nice day and wandered back into the forest. He thought about a way to get Little Red Riding Hood, for he very much would like to eat her.
> 
> Keeping an eye on the young girl on the clearing, he sneaked to the house of the grandmother. At the front door he knocked, and at the question of his identity, he answered with a disguised voice, "It's me, grandmother, Little Red Riding Hood." When the old woman invited him in, he entered the house and jumped the grandmother. After he had killed her, the wolf cooked her, and prepared some food for his guest.
> 
> It didn't take long before a knock sounded on the door. Wearing the nightgown and the nightcap of the grandmother, wolf lay in bed and called the young girl in. He thanked Little Red Riding Hood for the nice gift basket and invited her to eat from the dishes he had prepared. Gratefully, because she had gotten quite hungry picking flowers, the girl ate from the stew on the table, complimenting the fake grandmother for her cooking skills.
> 
> Once Little Red Riding Hood had finished eating…

A loud crash has Sam set the book down and go looking for Stephanie, who he is sure is the source of the disruption. He finds her in the bedroom, next to a smashed china vase. Tears are running down her cheeks, and she hugs herself tightly.  
"Stephanie?" Cautiously he takes a step closer to her.

"I'm sorry." The words are soft and full of tears. "I …"

Sam feels slightly out of his depth here. What's he supposed to do with an upset and crying girl? He could hug her, but then she would wipe her snot and tears into his clothes, and even though he feels sorry for her, that would be gross. So, hugging is out, but talking is not much better, what are you supposed to say in a situation like this one?

His dilemma ends when Dean wobbles past him and butts his head against the girl's side. The touch makes her reach down, and once she does that, she plops down and cradles his brother to her chest.

Most of the time Sam hates how girls act around his older brother, but this one time he feels grateful for Dean's effect on Stephanie. He watches for a couple of minutes how the act of petting Dean calms her down, and then he returns to the table and the book.

Just as Sam's about go back to reading, a knocking sound on the front door has him jump to his feet. Anxiously he walks to the front door. It's a difficult decision to make, what to do now. Sam doesn't think that the wolf they escaped from can knock on doors, but what about the witch? Never to forget all the other dangers that might lurk out there.

On the other hand if it's someone in need for help, Sam has to let them in, with the wolf sneaking around in the forest, it's too dangerous to stay outside.

"Who's there?" His question is met with silence. "Is anybody outside?"

"Sam?" The question stuns him. The person on the other side of the door knows his name. "Sam, is that you?"

At first he doesn't recognize the voice, but once he listens closely, he realizes who stumbled upon them. It's Tim!

Quickly he starts pushing the cupboard away from the door to let his friend in. "Wait a second, Tim, I'm going to open the door for you." Once the furniture is moved far enough to open the front door, Sam pulls it open, expecting to meet Tim.

Instead he's greeted by a little white kid. It looks up at him with brown eyes and takes a step closer to Sam.

"Tim?" At any other time, Sam would have thought himself to be insane, talking to the kid like it's a person but after what has already happened tonight, and after watching his own brother transform into a fawn, he gives it the benefit of a doubt.

"Sam." The white goatling trots up to him and cautiously peers behind Sam.

"Um, do come on in." Sam's sure that once all of this is over, he's going to laugh about this. Talking to a kid, he can't even say that stranger things have happened.

He casts a last look around before closing the front door again. The cupboard goes back in front of the entrance, and they are safely locked away again. With the threat of the wolf locked outside, Sam finally takes his first good look at his changed friend.

Tim, well there's only one way to put it, he's small. Not as small as Dean, but the difference in height is not that great. The big brown eyes of Sam's friend are full of fear, and the kid shakes hard just standing in the homely room, staring at Sam.

It is the sound of shuffling steps and the soft taps of hoofed feet that shakes the two boys out of their entranced state. Sam looks up to find Stephanie and Dean lounging in the bedroom doorway. The girl has stopped crying, the tears sticky on her face, and his brother favors his left side.

"Sam, is anybody here?" The girl takes another step into the room, her hands reaching out to find her way.

"A friend of mine is here." At his words Tim cautiously approaches Stephanie and Dean.

His bravery fails him though when the girl stumbles and almost trips over in his direction. Sam takes Stephanie's hand, and guides her to the nearest chair. Once the girl is seated he turns back to the new addition to their motley crew.  
"What happened to you, Tim?"

"I lost sight of you at the pageant," the kid starts to explain, "and then I tried to find my wait out of the crowd. There was a lot of shoving and shouting, and when I finally was able to get out of everyone's way, it was so foggy and dark, I couldn't tell up from down."  
Dean wobbles up to the table and lies down next to the seated girl.

"I couldn't find you and no-one answered when I called out. The first thing I heard then, was someone singing, and I thought that maybe someone was around, some grown-up who might be able to help me. I followed the voice for some time, but I never seemed to get any nearer. In the end I ended up at some place which looked like the clearing in a forest.

I don't know exactly what happened, but one second I was standing there, looking around and trying to find the person who had been singing, and the next I was a dwarf and had white fur."

With every word he says, Tim calms down more, and he comes closer to the table and everyone else in the room.

"I was scared and ran away. That's when I found the others. There were six other kids and we decided to stick together, to find our way back to our parents. We made it over some field and arrived at the border to the forest. It happened there that suddenly a huge black wolf jumped out between the trees and attacked us. I only watched him eat Jason before I ran as fast as I could.

"I don't think the others made it," are Tim's soft closing words.

Sam rubs his face and sits down next to Stephanie. He just has no idea what to do and where to go from here. Things are getting worse with every second, and he feels more than just out of his depth here.

"Well, I found Stephanie after I lost you in the crowd, and Dean I freed from a bread house, where a witch lives. We also got attacked by the wolf, I'm pretty sure it is the same one which attacked you and the other six kids, but we were able to escape."

His friend takes the words in with a short, and tired, nod. He lies down close to Dean and Stephanie and Dean thinks that, actually, they all deserve a break to get some rest. He can feel how his eyes demand some rest, itching and burning.

"How about we take a rest, and then we think of some plan?" His question is not really answered in the traditional way, but he takes the answer to be 'yes', when the other three get to their feet, and trudge to the bedroom.

Sam takes the large fairytale book with him and rolls up in the comfortable armchair, while Stephanie curls into bed, Dean and Tim already half asleep on the floor next to it. It takes him some time to find the place where he left off before, but then he continues reading the tale of _Little Red Riding Hood_. Next are stories like _Hansel and Gretel_, _The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids_, and _Rapunzel_.

Each and every one of the stories he reads, features a witch or a wolf, and in some of the stories the wolf is actually a werewolf or a shape-shifter. It's exactly this moment when Sam realizes that the wolf is no-one else but the shifted form of the witch.

He's also sure that the witch put a spell on his friend Tim. It's like in the story about the two lovers, where the girl was transformed into a bird. Actually, it seems like everything that happened to them since the lights went out at the pageant, is a remake of the fairy tales of old.

The question is though why they are suddenly caught in these tales, and how they'll be able to get out again. Their dad would know what to do in this situation, but he's on a hunt and so Dean and him are on their own.

Sam looks up from the book in his lap when he feels something brush against his foot. It's Dean, who stares up at him questioningly.

"I think I know what happened, I don't know why though."

He climbs down from the armchair and sits down on the floor. Dean lies down next to him, leaning against Sam's side. The frail body is warm, and the proximity of his older brother calms him down. For the first time since they left the witch's house he feels at ease.

The heavy tome is put in front of them, the thick pages showing beautifully painted pictures and curling script. Sam leaves to the current fairy tale they are acting out.

"Everything that happened so far is somehow connected to a fairy tale. I think that the witch who captured you and turned you into what you re now, is a werewolf or shape shifter. The wolf who attacked us, and killed the other children, is her. I'm sure of that."

Dean rubs his small head against Sam's arm, and he pets his brother's head. "I don't know what to do to get us out of this, but I do know that we have to be prepared for her to show up, in wolf form or in human form, which I can't say."

"Are we going to die?" Stephanie's voice is trembling with fear. She's sitting on the bed, the little white kid that is Tim, wrapped in her arms.

"No, we're not going to die. We'll find a way to get rid of her." Sam closes the book with a loud thud. "The most important thing is that we stay together, and we need something to defend us with, weapons."

The girl surprises him, when she nods and gets down from the large four-poster bed. "Okay."

She stands there; the white goatling next to her, torn cheeks and eyes, and waits for Sam to help her with the searching. Sam knows that Stephanie will not be able to help much with the searching, and she won't be able to fight much, with being blind and all, but he is glad to see that she's not crying or whining. They'll all need to be ready to take on whatever comes looking for them, and from what he read, no matter what it'll be, it'll be nasty.

"Okay." Sam gets up and picks up the fairy tale book. He takes her hand and guides her into the larger room with the table. "I'd say we get through all the cupboards and look for things that are sharp or pointy, knives or something similar."

And with these words the search begins. Stephanie and Tim are making their way through the cupboards and shelves on the right side of the room, with Tim telling the girl what she's holding, and helping her around the room. Sam and Dean are checking the cupboards and shelves on the other side.

In one drawer Sam finds a wicked looking blade. It looks unlike any knife he's ever seen, and there is only a small heft with, the blade curving like a scythe. He likes the look of the weapon and keeps it. There are no other useful things in the other drawers though.

As he walks over to the kitchen doorway, Dean butts his head against Sam, directing Sam's gaze at a crossbow leaning against the side of one cupboard. Okay, so they have a knife and a crossbow now. Turning to Stephanie and Tim, he finds the girl handling a large axe.

"I'll check out the kitchen for anything useful." His comment is met only with a nod from the girl and the kid, and Dean cautiously approaching the curtain to the other room.

With every step that his brother takes closer to the kitchen, Dean starts to flicker his ears more until he stops altogether and croons softly.

"Dean? Anything wrong?" The strange behavior of his brother makes Sam nervous, and he pockets the knife, getting a better hold on the crossbow. The weapon is heavy, and Sam has no idea how the thing works, but he feels better just holding it.

It is almost impossible to draw the sinew back, but once the ratchet is locked, Sam puts an arrow in position. He's not quite sure if he did it right, and so he has to admit that his hands are shaking slightly.

Carefully he passes his brother by on his way to the curtain.

The first thing that greets him, upon walking into the kitchen, is blood. And there's lots of it, everywhere. It's strange that they had not been able to smell the sickeningly sweet stench of the blood, considering the amount of it that covers almost every surface in the room.

After having processed that the kitchen of the house is painted in blood, Sam notices the bodies. At first it looks like someone bought meet at a butchers but it becomes all too clear, that the pieces of meat are not bought anywhere, but that human bodies had been torn to shreds. Human children bodies.

Sam grabs hold of a kitchen counter as a wave of nausea hits him. The surface feels slick and a little bit sticky, and when he takes a look at his hand, his palm is stained red.

Dean presses his small body against Sam's side and cries distressingly. It's the sound of his brother's cries that shakes Sam out of the trance that he's in, and he takes a step further into the kitchen.

The floor is slippery but he refuses to give in and run from the room. With every step that he takes deeper into the mayhem, Sam discovers more limbs and body parts, until he comes across a head, the eyes of girl's face wide open with fright, and glassy with death.

Although he shakes hard, Dean is always at Sam's side. Together they scout the room out. At the other end, on the left side, they discover a door. It is wide open, and leads out into the forest.

"I think…," Sam doesn't get any further than this, before there's a snarling growl and two bright yellow pinpoints of light start shining in the darkness outside the kitchen door.

The growling grows louder with every inch the two yellow eyes get closer, and soon the light from the kitchen illuminates the pitch black body of the huge wolf.

"Dean, warn the others."

But Dean doesn't move from his side. He tries to get in front of Sam, only to be pushed back by him. There's no way that Sam will let his big brother get killed by some stupid wolf in a fairy tale forest. This decision made, he raises the cross bow and takes aim.

The weapon is heavy and his arms tremble from nerves and exertion. Sam waits for the wolf to get closer. There's only one arrow he can shoot, for there will be no time to reload, and he can't afford to miss. Should the arrow not work though, he can always throw the crossbow itself.

When the wolf takes his first step into the kitchen, Sam takes a step back. The predatory eyes of the large animal gleams even harder, and a red tongue is hidden by a row of pearly white teeth. Combined with the dark fur, it is a creature out of every child's worst nightmare.

"Dean, warn the others." This time Sam shoves his brother into the direction of the curtain, to get his point across.

But if Dean is anything, he's damn stubborn, always has been. Squealing angry, he returns at his place next to Sam, and together they face off their attacker.

The wolf sniffs the air and then with an angry snarl he leaps at them.

In his hurry to protect his brother, Sam misses the attacker with the arrow, but a frantic punch with the crossbow itself, knocks the predator on the head, throwing him against the kitchen counter.

This time when Sam tells Dean to warn the others, he almost throws his older brother from the room, and slowly retreats from the kitchen, his back to the curtain. He keeps the crossbow in front of him. It can't shoot anything anymore, but it's better than nothing at all.

As he watches the large wolf get up to his feet, Sam feels the curtain to the large room brush against his back, and he takes a chance. Throwing the weapon against the wolf's head, he turns and runs from the kitchen.

He finds Stephanie, Dean and Tim behind the large table. The girl holds her axe determinedly in front of her, if he didn't know better; Sam would think her to be able to see. He joins them and together they wait for something to happen.

"I think it's the same one that attacked us in the forest. We need to get away from here." But where are they supposed to go? The front door is barricaded, there are no locks on the bedroom door, and even if they were able to get out of the house, their attacker would be able to follow them.

"Maybe we can lure him into the bedroom, and lock him inside, get some cupboard in front of the door."

"Maybe." Sam thinks that this might actually work. The big problem is how to get the wolf into the bedroom.

Feverishly he looks around. There is a large box that they might be able to move in front of the door, but what if the wolf really is a shape shifter? The barricaded door won't stop him. The bedroom door opens into the bedroom.

"Maybe we need to think about something else." And maybe they need to think about it fast, for the curtain moves and a large black canine face appears.

Tim presses against his feet, and when Sam looks down, he can see the kid shake with fear. They are all four of them scared to death.

Slowly the huge predator enters the room, and stares at them, over the table. His yellow eyes take everything in, and it feels like they are able to see into their very souls. It is the scariest thing that has ever happened to Sam.

Stephanie next to him takes a step forward and protects them with her own body. It's a very brave thing to do, but the problem is that she can't really defend them, even with the large axe, because there's a higher possibility of her hurting them, than actually injuring the wolf.

"Stephanie, stay back."

But she doesn't agree. Stubbornly she shakes her head, and takes another step closer to the wolf, the grip on the handle of the axe tightening. "No."

"Stephanie…"

It's exactly this moment when the large animal jumps, landing on top of the table. In the light of the room, and because of the close proximity, the wolf looks scarier than ever. It also looks strangely out of place, in the middle of the lovingly decorated room, next to the flowers and the porcelain figurines.

Sam grabs a book from the shelf next to him and clutches it tightly. His eyes never leave the black thing on the table as he slowly sneaks closer to the bedroom door.

He's not quite sure why, but suddenly the wolf lunges from his perch, and lands right in front of Sam. At this short distance the book is pretty useless as a weapon. That's why he tosses it aside and grabs a chair, moving it between himself and his attacker.

"Sam!" Stephanie's voice is shrill in his ear, but suddenly the handle of the axe is pressed into his hands, and he lets go of the chair.

"Stay behind me." Sam makes sure that the others don't get between him and the wolf, and then continues his stand off with the predator.

Tim squeaks terrified when the wolf smashes the chair, which is in his way, and continues his advance towards them.

All the while Sam steers them around the table, to get away from the barricaded front door. It is a long way from where they are standing to the kitchen curtain, but it is worth a try. They might be able to lock the wolf inside the house, if the kitchen door has a lock.

His tactic works for some time, but in the end the animal gets too impatient to go along with Sam's plan. It leaps over the table and cuts their escape route off.

"Dean, stay here!" But Dean is already placing himself in front of the others, trying to block the wolf's way towards Sam, Stephanie, and Tim.

Sam feels sick just watching his brother facing off the large thing.

The wolf snarls threateningly and crouches low, preparing to leap. And then everything happens in slow motion. The black form of the predator lunges forward, and knocking Dean down. At the same time a loud shot can be heard and the wolf crashes down, the dark shape changing, until it's not an animal anymore, but a hooded person.

Sam looks up from the pile of limbs and cloak to see his own father look back at him, a colt in his hand.

"Dad!" He starts towards his father, happy to finally be safe.

"Sam, stay where you are!" His dad's voice is commanding, and has him stop where he is. "It's not over yet."

The words make him look back to the fallen person, and to his horror does he see the shape still moving. And that's when it hits him. Dean's still buried somewhere underneath their attacker.

"Dean!" Axe in hand Sam charges and attacks the huddled form.

He doesn't hear his father calling out to him, but he gets brutally thrown aside by the cloaked thing, which has her hands around his brother's neck, wringing it.

"Dean!"

Another shot and finally the witch, for Sam recognizes her as the old crone from the bread house, drops down, this time, not attempt of moving again.

Dean stays awfully still, and Sam thinks that his big brother might be dead, when he starts twitching. The limbs and the body of the fawn start changing their shape, and at the same time the fur, which had been covering Dean's body, falls out.

Sam notices that the room around them changes as well. The furniture disappears; the shelves and cupboards are already gone. Slowly he can make out that they are in some kind of basement. Runes and symbols are covering the walls.

"Sam, take care of the other children, I'll take care of Dean." After a last look at his older brother's trembling, and now very much naked, form, Sam turns to Stephanie and Tim.

The girl's face is still torn, but Tim is back to himself. Just like Dean, he's missing his clothes, but he's otherwise unharmed. Sam shrugs off his jacket and hands it to his friend.

"Let's get out of here." He takes Stephanie's hand and guides her to the door, which leads out of the dark basement.

Outside, on the street, people are running around, looking for children, calling for parents. Sam thinks about the dead children in the basement, and wonders if they were real. He hopes that they weren't, because otherwise a couple of parents and siblings would be very sad tonight.

Just as they stop on the sidewalk, a woman comes running at them. She's crying, and falls on her knees in front of Stephanie.

"Baby!"

"Mum!" The girl lets go of Sam's hand and wraps her arms around her mother's neck.

"What happened to you, Steph?" The woman's framing her daughter's head and takes a closer look at the torn face of the girl. "My poor baby, what happened to your beautiful face?"

More tears, and she picks Stephanie up, and carries her away. Tim at his side watches with Sam until mother and daughter are out of their sight.

"I'll go back home." The boy glances at Sam but looks back into the direction Stephanie and her mother disappeared into.

"Okay." Sam wants to go home as well.

"I'll give the jacket back to you in school."

"Okay." He waves his friend goodbye, and turns back to the door of the basement. Hopefully his dad and his brother will be with him soon, and then they can go back to the motel. But most important of all is, that Dean's alright.

It takes a couple of minutes until his father comes up the stairs, carrying Dean, wrapped in his leather jacket, up the stairs. He just nods at Sam and walks down the sidewalk.

Sam hurries his step up, trying to catch up to his dad and brother. Once he's reached them, he keeps up the pace his dad's setting.

Not a word is said between them, and during their walk back to the motel room, Sam can for the first time in quite some time, feel the burning of his bruised knees, and the pain in his hands. And there's something digging into his thigh.

Curious about what it is, Sam digs into the pocket of his pants and pulls out the knife from the fairy tale house. It surprises him that the blade did not disappear, but as he once more has to run to keep up with his dad, Sam decides to keep it as a souvenir of the scariest Halloween ever.

 

**The End.**


End file.
